Loans and such

[PsP for real]

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So I know that everyone ultimately figures this out but I just recently got accepted and wanted to start looking forward to being broke. How do all the loans work? Does the school set most of them up? I am pretty ignorant to the whole process honestly and am trying to figure it out.
Thanks.

 

[deleted261193]

congrats! i'd like to know about this as well. i assume you apply for FAFSA and then the government tells the school what they recommend or something?

also how do undergrad loans play into this? particularly stafford subsidized? are we back to our non-paying period once we start school again?

 

[gravitywave]

you need to keep track of the financial aid deadlines for every school to which you apply, as many don't care whether or not you've been accepted. in other words, even if you don't get accepted until May, you're SOL if you didn't meet the March deadline. go on the school's website, and do what they tell you to do, just like applying to school in the first place 🙂 don't miss any deadlines, this cannot be overemphasized.

at some point in the spring, the schools to which you have been accepted will get to you with a package that meets their estimate of your cost of attendance. if you are a US citizen/permanent resident, it should be comprised of federal loans and maybe scholarships.

Staffords are not in repayment during med school if you go fulltime. private loans may not be as forgiving.

 

[theseeker4]

you need to keep track of the financial aid deadlines for every school to which you apply, as many don't care whether or not you've been accepted. in other words, even if you don't get accepted until May, you're SOL if you didn't meet the March deadline. go on the school's website, and do what they tell you to do, just like applying to school in the first place 🙂 don't miss any deadlines, this cannot be overemphasized.

at some point in the spring, the schools to which you have been accepted will get to you with a package that meets their estimate of your cost of attendance. if you are a US citizen/permanent resident, it should be comprised of federal loans and maybe scholarships.

Staffords are not in repayment during med school if you go fulltime. private loans may not be as forgiving.

Do they typically give you a package that says "you are eligible for this amount of Stafford loans, this amount of plus loans, this amount for scholarships, etc." and you tell them how much you actually want to borrow? Or do you have to decide the exact amount you will borrow when you first apply for financial aid?

 

[gravitywave]

Do they typically give you a package that says "you are eligible for this amount of Stafford loans, this amount of plus loans, this amount for scholarships, etc." and you tell them how much you actually want to borrow? Or do you have to decide the exact amount you will borrow when you first apply for financial aid?

you give them all your numbers (income, assets, etc), and then they give you theirs So it's the first one you said. It basically works just like undergrad: apply for everything and you can always refuse it once it's offered.

do not omit parent numbers on the FAFSA. many schools will screen you out of institutional scholarships if they can not have the whole picture. this is the case regardless of how old you are, or how long you have been "independent" for FAFSA purposes.

 

[theseeker4]

you give them all your numbers (income, assets, etc), and then they give you theirs So it's the first one you said. It basically works just like undergrad: apply for everything and you can always refuse it once it's offered.

do not omit parent numbers on the FAFSA. many schools will screen you out of institutional scholarships if they can not have the whole picture. this is the case regardless of how old you are, or how long you have been "independent" for FAFSA purposes.

That is what I thought it was, but wanted to be sure. Do they typically include available private loans (not that I plan on using those)? Also, do they automatically list for you all federal loans available, or are the plus loans (I think they are called) something you have to apply separately for?

 

[NickNaylor]

you need to keep track of the financial aid deadlines for every school to which you apply, as many don't care whether or not you've been accepted. in other words, even if you don't get accepted until May, you're SOL if you didn't meet the March deadline. go on the school's website, and do what they tell you to do, just like applying to school in the first place 🙂 don't miss any deadlines, this cannot be overemphasized.

I strongly, strongly second this advice. I accidentally missed out on a couple of financial aid deadlines at schools I was interested in last year which caused me to shut the door on those opportunities since paying full price and out of pocket was out of the question. Had those been the only schools I was accepted to, I would've been entirely screwed. Spend a couple of hours combing through each school's financial aid website and make sure you understand what all you have to do by when. Most schools require a supplementary application (similar to a secondary) in addition to the FAFSA. I'd recommend whipping up an Excel spreadsheet that lists every document and deadline for each school you intend on submitting financial aid info to.

Do they typically give you a package that says "you are eligible for this amount of Stafford loans, this amount of plus loans, this amount for scholarships, etc." and you tell them how much you actually want to borrow? Or do you have to decide the exact amount you will borrow when you first apply for financial aid?

It's usually the former. They calculate a total budget that represents the maximum amount of money you can receive for school-related expenses, whether that money be in the form of scholarships, grants, and/or loans. You do NOT have to accept all of that amount: if you know, for example, that you won't need the full amount allocated for housing expenses, then you can either return that money or use it for other things.

 

[gravitywave]

That is what I thought it was, but wanted to be sure. Do they typically include available private loans (not that I plan on using those)? Also, do they automatically list for you all federal loans available, or are the plus loans (I think they are called) something you have to apply separately for?

you are on your own for private loans, but every citizen/permanent resident who qualifies for PLUS can take an amount equal to whatever the balance is after you've maxed out all the better resources. for most people, that's scholarships > institutional loans > Staffords (the typical limit on Staffords is ~$40-45k per year, up to $224k cumulative lifetime max, last i knew). Most people do qualify for PLUS, hence the need for private loans is small and very case-specific.

FAFSA is the gateway to everything federal. Anything you need to do for federal stuff will be spelled out on schools' websites.

 

[gravitywave]

It's usually the latter. They calculate a total budget that represents the maximum amount of money you can receive for school-related expenses, whether that money be in the form of scholarships, grants, and/or loans. You do NOT have to accept all of that amount: if you know, for example, that you won't need the full amount allocated for housing expenses, then you can either return that money or use it for other things.

Nick, your school makes you tell them how much you need when you apply? That's how I interpreted the question, but for you to say "the latter" suggests something different.

 

[NickNaylor]

Nick, your school makes you tell them how much you need when you apply? That's how I interpreted the question, but for you to say "the latter" suggests something different.

I have no idea what's going on. 😳

My experience with most schools (including Pritzker) is that you apply for financial aid, they "approve" you for the maximum budget/maximum amount you can borrow, and you can choose to accept however much you think you need. I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but that's what I meant. My apologies.

Edit: ohhh, I see. I meant to say "former," not "latter" in my above post. Oops.

 

[gravitywave]

I have no idea what's going on. 😳

My experience with most schools (including Pritzker) is that you apply for financial aid, they "approve" you for the maximum budget/maximum amount you can borrow, and you can choose to accept however much you think you need. I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but that's what I meant. My apologies.

Edit: ohhh, I see. I meant to say "former," not "latter" in my above post. Oops.

gotcha, figured that was it. Everything else was consistent....

 

[Bro Dude]

you need to keep track of the financial aid deadlines for every school to which you apply, as many don't care whether or not you've been accepted. in other words, even if you don't get accepted until May, you're SOL if you didn't meet the March deadline. go on the school's website, and do what they tell you to do, just like applying to school in the first place 🙂 don't miss any deadlines, this cannot be overemphasized.

Slightly on a tangent there, but for that matter, assume a student has a dozen acceptances and a dozen waitlist spots (Disclaimer: I do not. This is purely hypothetical)...is there a limit as to how many schools can be selected on the FAFSA? I did search through old threads, but they're all somewhat vague, even contradictory, in this regard.

 

[gravitywave]

Slightly on a tangent there, but for that matter, assume a student has a dozen acceptances and a dozen waitlist spots (Disclaimer: I do not. This is purely hypothetical)...is there a limit as to how many schools can be selected on the FAFSA? I did search through old threads, but they're all somewhat vague, even contradictory, in this regard.

there is a way around this, as i recall, can't think of it off the top of my head but i'm sure it's somewhere in the FAFSA directions.

 

[pdxjazz]

you need to keep track of the financial aid deadlines for every school to which you apply, as many don't care whether or not you've been accepted. in other words, even if you don't get accepted until May, you're SOL if you didn't meet the March deadline. go on the school's website, and do what they tell you to do, just like applying to school in the first place 🙂 don't miss any deadlines, this cannot be overemphasized.

at some point in the spring, the schools to which you have been accepted will get to you with a package that meets their estimate of your cost of attendance. if you are a US citizen/permanent resident, it should be comprised of federal loans and maybe scholarships.

Staffords are not in repayment during med school if you go fulltime. private loans may not be as forgiving.

According to the FAFSA website, you can only list 10 schools on the form. You can delete schools later and back add more, but it still must equal 10 schools. So are you saying that you can send info to schools to meet their March deadlines without having listed them on the FAFSA form?

 

[rickyv]

So if I am 22 years old, can I file as an independent if my parents refuse to participate in my FASFA application? What are possible issues?

 

[NickNaylor]

So if I am 22 years old, can I file as an independent if my parents refuse to participate in my FASFA application? What are possible issues?

You WILL file as an independent for graduate school loans regardless of your parental status. Your parents don't have to supply any information in order for you to receive federal funding (e.g., Stafford loans, etc.). However, most schools require parental information if you plan on applying for institutional aid (e.g., scholarships, institutional grants/loans, etc.). If your parents "refuse to participate" I would recommend getting in touch with the schools and letting them know. Unless there's absolutely no way to get that info, though, they most likely won't make an exception for you. There are usually very limited amounts of institutional resources, so schools want to ensure that the most needy students get that limited supply. One way of determining need is your family's wealth (regardless of whether that's right or wrong).

 

[rickyv]

If your parents make $250K/yr or more is it basically a waste of time to fill out the parental section of the FASFA? If $250K represents the top 2% of income in the US, I would not expect any schools to direct funds to these people. Any thoughts?

 

[NickNaylor]

If your parents make $250K/yr or more is it basically a waste of time to fill out the parental section of the FASFA? If $250K represents the top 2% of income in the US, I would not expect any schools to direct funds to these people. Any thoughts?

Not necessarily. I would fill it out anyway because you never know what might happen and it's really not that much work.

 

[PsP for real]

So would this loan package then almost always be sufficient for what you would need such as food rent tuition ect? Or is it more common to have to take out private loans from like 5/3 and others to pay the amount that stafford won't. I want to say stafford is capped at about 20,000 and clearly that isn't enough.

 

[NickNaylor]

So would this loan package then almost always be sufficient for what you would need such as food rent tuition ect? Or is it more common to have to take out private loans from like 5/3 and others to pay the amount that stafford won't. I want to say stafford is capped at about 20,000 and clearly that isn't enough.

With the exception of very expensive schools that cost more than the annual Stafford limits, yes, these loans cover living expenses (including rent, food, transportation, etc.). The particular amounts you're given vary from school to school.

 

[IMSingular]

With the exception of very expensive schools that cost more than the annual Stafford limits, yes, these loans cover living expenses (including rent, food, transportation, etc.). The particular amounts you're given vary from school to school.

What is the actual mechanism? Is the loan approved on year by year basis and you have to reapply every year like you do in undergraduate years? Is the tution part paid to the school directly, and the remainder goes in your account and you can use it as needed on continuing basis? Or do the they give a card, something like credit card, with drawing rights to some limit?
In the first year you may need more because you tend by most of the books in the first year; do they adjust yearly amount for such differences?
Suppose last year, that is 2011, parental income was large but this year, that is 2012, it is expected to be low say because one of the parent lost a job; what do they do? Is there a way to report this on the form?

 

[DrBowtie]

What is the actual mechanism? Is the loan approved on year by year basis and you have to reapply every year like you do in undergraduate years? Is the tution part paid to the school directly, and the remainder goes in your account and you can use it as needed on continuing basis? Or do the they give a card, something like credit card, with drawing rights to some limit?
In the first year you may need more because you tend by most of the books in the first year; do they adjust yearly amount for such differences?

The loans go to the school first, then you get a residual.
The school sets a cost of attendance (COA) that covers tuition and living expenses. The amount of money given for living expenses does vary.
Each year M1-M4 has different COAs due to varied expenses like board exams etc.

 

[IMSingular]

The loans go to the school first, then you get a residual.
The school sets a cost of attendance (COA) that covers tuition and living expenses. The amount of money given for living expenses does vary.
Each year M1-M4 has different COAs due to varied expenses like board exams etc.

Thanks!

 

[ManBroDude]

Bump.

What happens if your parents are retired? Should I even bother with the parents section if I know I'm not gonna get an institutional scholarship or loan?

 

[IMSingular]

Bump.

What happens if your parents are retired? Should I even bother with the parents section if I know I'm not gonna get an institutional scholarship or loan?

+1.

I think FAFSA will ask the income for 2011. Now what happens if one parent retire, looses a job, or the income in 2012 is going to be low due to lower bonus etc. How does one report such expected change in future as opposed to what was income in 2011?